Professor partners with student trainer for healthier lifestyle
by Calderon
Three years ago, Alison Smoot-Pierce, a teaching associate in CCU's Department of Biology, was told she was lucky to be alive after a disastrous car wreck. After losing her father to diabetes around the same time, she made the decision to commit to a healthier lifestyle.
Today, Smoot-Pierce trains weekly with Drew Young, a junior in the exercise and sport science major here at Coastal.
Young and Smoot-Pierce follow an exercise program designed by CCU’s very own Jason Cholewa, an assistant professor of exercise and sport science. As a result, Smoot-Pierce trains six days a week, two of those days alongside Young.
“Four days of the week are weight training; that’s like Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday are cardio days, and then Saturday is an off day,” she says.
According to Young, weight-training days start off with a warmup to increase blood flow. They move on to heavy compound movements like deadlifts, and then finish with smaller motor movements like lunges and step-ups, and, finally, a cool down.
In addition to losing around 26 pounds, Smoot-Pierce says she has definitely benefited in other ways from training with Young.
“I know when I started, I could hardly even bench press," she says."I couldn’t even bench press the bar, and now we’re up to the bar plus about 10 or 20 pounds. I’ve just seen a lot of strength gains overall. In the beginning, I was really stiff. I know when I first leaned over trying to work out, I couldn’t even get my hands down to my knees, and now I can actually touch my toes."
According to Smoot-Pierce, having a student as a trainer is just like having a professional fitness trainer.
“I’ve never done this before," she says. "It really helps me learn proper form, proper speed. It also gives you a little bit more confidence to lift heavier weights than you would by yourself because you know you’ve got somebody there who, if you try to do too much, can step in and help you out in the last few reps."
Young, on the other hand, was a little anxious about working with professor Smoot-Pierce.
“Originally, when I started meeting with her, I didn’t really know what to expect," he says. "She was my oldest client, and she was one of my only females at the time."
However, their partnership turned out to be of great benefit for not only Smoot-Pierce, but also for Young.
“I’m glad that it all happened," he says, "because she is actually my best client. Even more than that, we’ve built a friendship. I feel that we both have really benefited."
Smoot-Pierce has some advice for those who want to lose weight: “It’s a slow process. It definitely takes patience with yourself. If you fall off one day and you don’t feel like working out, that’s fine; just make sure to get back up and start again. Don’t feel guilty, just keep at it.”
